climate change

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It's Not a Treaty, but GOP Can Defang Climate Deal

And one route could lead to another government shutdown

(Newser) - Yesterday's surprising deal on climate change between the US and China came about after a personal letter from President Obama to his Chinese counterpart last spring, reports the Guardian . But while Xi Jinping will presumably face no substantive opposition from Chinese lawmakers on the goals to cut carbon emissions,...

Climate Deal Between US, China Is 'Game Changer'

Ambitious goals please advocates for reform

(Newser) - Agreements that emerge from international summits often are met with a shrug. Not so the surprise deal between the US and China on climate change. Writers at Grist , Mother Jones , and Slate all use the phrase "game changer" in describing this one. The big takeaway numbers: The US set...

US, China Pull a Surprise: Major Climate Deal

World's 2 largest polluters join forces to curb emissions

(Newser) - The US and China rank as the world's two largest polluters , but a surprise deal is turning them into the world's two largest pollution fighters: The nations announced that they'll be working in tandem on long-term greenhouse-gas controls that would cut emissions by nearly a third over...

South Florida Wants to Be 51st State—Over Climate Change

South Miami officials pass resolution due to rising sea levels

(Newser) - South Florida could be our 51st state if officials in South Miami get their way. Vice Mayor Walter Harris has put forth a resolution to split the state due to concerns over rising sea levels. "We have to be able to deal directly with this environmental concern, and we...

Scientists Pinpoint Worst Drought in 1K Years

Dust Bowl of 1934 was 30% more intense than the runner-up drought of 1580

(Newser) - If you've lately found yourself wondering when the worst drought North America has suffered occurred, here's your answer: 1934. At least, as far as the last millennium goes. In a new NASA study, scientists say that a combination of atmospheric conditions (a high pressure ridge off the West...

Plants Suck Up More CO2 Than Thought
 Plants Suck Up More 
 CO2 Than Thought 
STUDY SAYS
Oct 15, 2014 2:04 AM CDT

Plants Suck Up More CO2 Than Thought

Finding makes climate fight 'slightly easier,' experts say

(Newser) - Some rare good news in the fight against climate change: Plants are an even greater ally than we knew, absorbing around 16% more carbon than previously thought, according to new research. University of Texas researchers took a fresh look at climate models and at how CO2 is absorbed by plants,...

Pentagon: Climate Change Is Military Threat

Chuck Hagel releases report at meeting in Peru

(Newser) - The Pentagon released a report today saying US military strategy must adapt to climate change because it's threatening national security, the New York Times reports. Disease, rising waters, food shortages, violent storms, droughts, and worldwide poverty could undermine US security by creating instability and mass migration, according to the...

Antarctic Ice Is Growing —But Why?

NASA scientists seek to explain expanding ice

(Newser) - Amid the rising calamity of climate change, Antarctic sea ice has hit an all-time high—but why? Well, scientists aren't quite sure, the Smithsonian reports. "It's really not surprising to people in the climate field that not every location on the face of Earth is acting as...

US' Worst Spot for Methane: Four Corners

Site where 4 states meet produces triple the typical amount of the gas

(Newser) - Put together all the methane produced by the coal, oil, and gas industries each year across the UK, and you'll have a good estimate of the amount produced in a small stateside area between 2003 and 2009. The 2,500-square-mile Four Corners region—where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and...

Planes Rerouted to Prevent Walrus Stampede

FAA warns media, gawkers to stay away, not spook beached animals

(Newser) - Aircraft, media, and curious folks in general have been instructed to stay far away from the 35,000 walruses crammed onto an Alaskan beach to prevent the easily spooked animals from stampeding each other to death, the Guardian reports. "When they lose their sea ice habitat and come ashore...

Why 35K Walruses Crowded Onto This Beach

There's no ice in the Chukchi Sea for them to rest on

(Newser) - What a loss of sea ice looks like: an estimated 35,000 walruses, crowded on one stretch of Alaskan beach. Images taken on Saturday via plane as part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's annual marine animal survey capture just that. The enormous grouping of the mammals near...

Climate Marchers Cram NYC Streets

Similar events held in London, Australia

(Newser) - Demonstrators are making their way through Manhattan's streets as part of a series of global marches over climate change. Thousands filled the streets today near Columbus Circle and Broadway, including actors Mark Ruffalo and Evangeline Lilly. Other cities held similar marches. In London, organizers said 40,000 took part,...

White House's New Enemy: Coolant Found in Your Home

Calls on firms, trading partners to cut down on R-134a

(Newser) - The Obama administration has a new goal in its effort to fight climate change: get Americans—and the world—to quickly stop using a chemical coolant found in just about every US home, car, and office. R-134a is a hydrofluorocarbon, or HFC; the chemical was used to replace ozone-damaging Freon...

Skyscraper Rising in Middle of the Amazon

Observatory is far from human settlement

(Newser) - At 1,066 feet, a tower rising in Brazil will be taller than New York City's Chrysler Building—or any skyscraper in South America—but it won't have any neighbors in sight. The Amazon Tall Tower Observatory, around 100 miles from the city of Manuas, is designed to...

2013 Saw Fastest Spike in CO2 Levels Since 1984

Greenhouse gases hit record highs: World Meteorological Organization

(Newser) - Greenhouse gases rose to record levels last year, according to a new report by the World Meteorological Organization, making a worldwide climate treaty more critical now than ever. Concentrations of carbon dioxide in particular peaked at 396 parts per million, the BBC reports—3ppm over the previous year, in the...

Freshwater Fueling Antarctic Sea Rise

Coastal waters rising faster than rest of ocean

(Newser) - Around 61% of the world's freshwater is locked up in Antarctic ice—but a new study warns that accelerating melting on the continent is helping push up the sea levels around it. Researchers found that between 1992 and 2011, sea levels rose more around Antarctica than in the Southern...

Obama May Skirt Congress on Global Climate Deal

With Senate a dead end, he plans pact that needs no ratification: NYT

(Newser) - President Obama is employing some "legal and political magic" as one expert puts it so he can create an international climate change agreement without Congress, the New York Times reports. This fancy footwork is in preparation for a 2015 UN climate change summit in Paris. Knowing that he has...

Atlantic Sea Floor Is Burping Methane
 Atlantic Sea Floor 
 Is Burping Methane 
STUDY SAYS
Aug 25, 2014 9:41 AM CDT

Atlantic Sea Floor Is Burping Methane

570 methane seeps quite unexpected in 'cold, old' East Coast

(Newser) - The bottom of the Atlantic Ocean has been burping methane for at least 1,000 years, scientists have discovered. NOAA surveyed the Atlantic Coast using sound waves and found at least 570 methane "seeps" from Cape Hatteras to Nantucket, right where the continental shelf meets the ocean, LiveScience reports....

Earth&#39;s &#39;Missing Heat&#39; Found in Atlantic
 Earth's 'Missing Heat' 
 Found in Atlantic 
STUDY SAYS
Aug 24, 2014 12:48 PM CDT

Earth's 'Missing Heat' Found in Atlantic

Researchers say it's behind global warming pause, which is only temporary

(Newser) - One odd thing not in dispute about global warming is that it's actually been paused for about 15 years now. Though a number of theories have been batted around, a new study thinks it's found the true culprit—the Atlantic Ocean has been absorbing heat that would normally...

If Drought Continues, Giant Sequoias Could Disappear

California's 3-year drought threatens 3K-year-old trees

(Newser) - Scientists are working hard to prevent a "what-if" scenario that could be caused by California’s epic three-year drought—the disappearance of the state's ancient giant sequoias. "A world where a child can’t stare up in wonder at a giant cathedral-like crown is a very real...

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